A New Direction for Prevention
Due to the tenacious work
of Drs. McGowan and Anton,
microbicides move to the
forefront as a new
weapon to prevent
the spread of HIV.
Highlights from the article..
Microbicides- substances that can be used topically to prevent
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV from
infecting the bodbyare not a new idea. Spermicides have
been used for years- so the idea of a microbicide is not a huge
ideological leap. Perhaps because it was such a prosaic concept-
stopping HIV right at the point of entry- the scientific
community clamored past it as they searched for more complicated
or foolproof measures. The scientific community is
known for being slow to adopt new ideas- in fact, it's almost
a point of pride. The dark side of this arrangement is that once
they've committed to an idea, it can be even harder for them
to let go of it. For the last 10 years, the study of HIV prevention
has been stuck in exactly this kind of a rut.
...
Dr. Peter Anton and Dr. Ian McGowan began their work
quietly over 10 years ago, a time when most immunologists
and virologists had committed themselves to working with
models of HIV infection only in blood. When Anton and
McGowan began suggesting that it might be equally important
to study immune response to HIV in mucosa, they encountered
skepticism and a lack of funding. After over 10 years of
hard work (and annual support from the UCLA AIDS Institute
and Macy's Passport fund-raisers) their groundbreaking assays
on immune response to HIV in rectal mucosal tissues are the
scientific foundation that is enabling this huge new study on
rectal microbicides- a study whose results may eventually prevent
millions of new HIV infections every year.
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